Georgia church in need of food donations to continue serving students, families

MARIETTA, Ga. - A local food distribution program in Marietta is facing a crisis.

Organizers said they are running out of food to give families in need.

"This is a frightening thing knowing this is what we are going into next Thursday," Fair Oaks Elementary School Principal Dean Yoder said.

The food distribution is a partnership between Marietta City Schools and Mosaic Church Marietta.

The program's organizers said because of COVID-19 their demand has more than doubled.

Mosaic Church Marietta Pastor Adrian Coetzer said they went from giving out about 100 boxes a month to roughly 1,400 boxes in the past two weeks.

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"That's largely due to the rise in unemployment in South Cobb,” Coetzer said. “Even those who are working, all of their money is going to bills and that means food costs are deferred."

There wasn't much food at the church when FOX 5 visited Friday afternoon.

"This is as empty as I've ever seen it,” Yoder said.

He said they could maybe feed about 50 families.

“We try to put one or two starches, spaghetti, rice. We put breakfast items like pop tarts. It could be whole cereal box," Yoder said.

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These meals can feed a family of four for a week.

"It's tragic that there are families in 2020 that are going without food on a daily basis,” Coetzer explained.

The program relies heavily on donations.

Organizers said they are remaining optimistic that they’ll come up with enough food to make sure no students go hungry.

"We will be able to do something," Coetzer said.